the call of the mountains

(cliquez pour fond d'écran d'oregon)

will you take me where

the water runs wild

off the mountainside,

before it reaches the highway,

far from humanity?

will you help me climb

each raggedy path

bordering on nothing

to the foot of the iceberg

where only black flies live?

i will pack a lunch for us,

nothing fancy, peanut butter

sandwiches on buttered toast;

we'll wash them down

with melted snow.

the air will be chilly

in april, but we will not

be cold because

we're using every muscle

to pull us over the rocks.

this felled tree

presents a challenge too:

once you are over it,

will you offer me your hand as i

climb on the first branch?

i need your help because,

as you well know,

my heart has been raging

past the legal age limit

and it makes me vertiginous.

yet, the mountain's call

with her running river

and verdant vistas

is stronger than any

maladie du cœur.

therefore, my darling one,

dress me up in layers

and drive until

nobody can see us

do the impossible.

i'll take my chances

with you behind me,

your hand gently pressed

on my lumbar spine, saving

me from stagnation.